Victimization

Consent and Sex

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, University of New Haven

Key Findings

Across testing sites, participants agreed that the perpetrator in the scenarios used Verbally Coerced Sex (VCS) to pressure the woman.

Across scenarios, the majority women (26.8%,), agreed or agreed strongly that the sexual encounter was rape.

The majority women (47.6%) agreed or strongly agreed that the perpetrator used VCS but it was not a crime.

A defined minority (15.4%) agreed the perpetrator used coercion to attain sex and it should be considered a crime but it wasn’t rape.

Data showed that the relationship status between the woman and the perpetrator, as well as the gender of the participant, significantly impacted how the sexual encounter was perceived.

Description

In the article, “Verbally coerced sex: Does she have to say ‘no’?,” Tamborra and her co-authors examine the perceptions of verbal sexual coercion (VCS) in heterosexual encounters. VCS is classified as a tactic used by perpetrators to gain sex from an unwilling partner. This aspect of sexual assault can range in classification from rape to psychological pressure. To conduct their study, the researchers used hypothetical scenarios positioned to 372 participants from three colleges: a private, northeastern, four-year university; a public, northeastern, two-year community college; and a public, southern, two-year technical college. The questions first assessed how respondents perceived a heterosexual exchange where the woman resists the man’s advances but doesn’t say, “no.” From there, they assessed if respondents attributed the situation to the female’s reputation, relationship to the perpetrator and then finally if there were gender differences in these scenarios. The results showed that across sites, participants agreed that the perpetrator in the scenarios used VCS to pressure the woman. Across scenarios, 26.8% agreed or agreed strongly that the sexual encounter was rape. Females were more likely to perceive the situation as rape. Another 47.6%, a majority women, agreed or strongly agreed that the perpetrator used VCS but it was not a crime. A defined minority (15.4%) agreed the perpetrator used coercion to attain sex and it should be considered a crime but it wasn’t rape. Finally, the data showed that the relationship status between the woman and the perpetrator and gender of the participant significantly impacted how the sexual encounter was perceived. The authors agreed there is a need for further research to guide policy and definitions for sexual assault laws.